Process for processing organic waste

ABSTRACT

A process for producing dried pieces of organic waste by reducing raw organic waste to pieces and drying the raw organic waste to a moisture content at which it is generally free of odors caused by microbial activity.

This is a non-provisional of U.S. provisional application No. 60/410,327filed Sep. 13, 2002. The entirety of that document is incorporatedherein by this reference to it.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to devices and processes for processing organicwaste, to compositions of matter or outcomes produced by such devicesand processes, and to the use of such outcomes. The invention may beused, for example, to manage household or commercial organic waste.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Managing organic waste (alternately called garbage, refuse, trash etc.)is an important issue for households, industries and municipalities.Various methods or devices are in common use today to divert organicwaste from landfills, but fail to provide fully satisfactory solutions.The most prevalent diversion methods or devices include under-sink wastedisposers, garbage compacters, home composting, and municipal collectionand composting. These methods or devices will be described below.

Under-sink waste disposers are mounted below the basket of aconventional sink. Disposers are located in line between the sink basketand the sink drain line and provide means for chopping garbage intoparticles which can be washed down the drain line. A user insertsgarbage through the sink basket, turns on the tap to provide a stream ofwater sufficient to wash down the garbage, and turns on the choppingmeans. Disposers are attractive to consumers because they provide animmediate and permanent means to remove garbage from the sink area. Butwhile disposers are convenient for the user, they harm the environment.In particular, they use excessive amounts of water as required toentrain the garbage in a flow of liquid down the drain. And although thegarbage is removed from the kitchen, it is merely transplanted towhatever sewage system services the house. The transplanted garbage is aburden on the sewage system and on the environment since all sewagetreatment systems produce some form of discharge roughly in proportionto the amount of waste that they treat. Further, the potential value ofthe organic waste is lost. For these reasons, under-sink disposers havebeen banned in some jurisdictions. Under sink disposers are also notattractive to consumers that are environmentally conscious, consumersthat pay for utilities based on the amount of water they use or sewagethey produce, or consumers that use septic tanks or other private sewagetreatment devices.

Garbage compacters basically crush all garbage put into them, and placethe crushed garbage into a strong plastic bag. The volume of the garbageis reduced, but the total mass of garbage remains unchanged. The usergets some benefit from having a smaller volume of garbage to store orhandle, but the weight and smell of the garbage remain and there arevirtually no benefits to the municipality since the compacted garbage ismixed with general garbage that the municipality would crush at somepoint in any event. The potential value of the organic waste is againlost.

Because of the problems with trash disposers and compacters,environmentally conscious consumers and municipalities have promotedhome composting. Home composting diverts some organic waste fromlandfills or waste treatment facilities and produces a potentiallyuseful product from it. But consumers have only been partially receptiveto home composting because it is essentially inconvenient. In homecomposting, homeowners maintain a composting bin or other receptacle intheir own yard. The occupants of the household typically collectselected organic waste in a pail and empty the pail into the compostingbin daily. Over time, the selected organic waste will turn into compostthat can be used at the household, for example, as fertilizer forgardens. The garbage remains in the home until emptied to the compostbin, and must be taken to the compost bin periodically. Taking waste tothe compost bin is often a nuisance since the compost bin is outdoorsand, for aesthetic reasons, usually located as far from the house aspossible. The compost bin also takes up space in the yard. For thesereasons, a large portion of the population simply will not practice homecomposting and a large portion of those that do will only practice itsporadically. On a municipal level, the major problem with homecomposting is that it only works well if the user has a sizable yard.Businesses and people living in apartments and condominiums, or eventownhouses with small yards, have no place for a composting bin and nouse for the volume of compost they would create. Other problems relateto the slow speed of home composting and concerns for attracting pests.These problems generally prevent meat, dairy products and other organicsfrom being home composted.

Municipal collection and composting has been proposed as a means toimprove on home composting. In a typical application, a municipalityprovides its residents with a special container for organic waste. Thehomeowners collect organic waste in the special container over thecourse of a week, and then place the container at the curb for pick up.The municipality collects the organic waste and can process it atdedicated composting sites. A municipal composting site typically breaksdown the waste faster than a home composting bin and may generate asteady supply of compost in sufficient volume to support a compost salesunit. A municipal site may also be able to extract usable biomass orgases for energy production. Of course these programs involve the costof the special containers and the cost of picking up and transportingraw organic waste. The more significant problem, however, is that theseprograms remain inconvenient to the users. In particular, the specialcontainer is typically kept in a garage because it must be large enoughto hold a week's worth of raw organic waste and because it smells by thetime that the pick up day arrives. The user must either travel regularlyto the garage to deposit organic waste or maintain interim collectionsof organic waste in the house. As with home composting, even users thatsupport the environmental goals of a municipal composting program mayonly separate some of their organic waste for composting. Municipalcomposting programs are also similar to home composting in that they aregenerally not useful for people living in apartments or condominiumssince the special container must be kept within the living area of eachunit where it takes up space, looks ugly and smells.

Because of these and other problems, consumers and other users remainfrustrated by the entire waste management and recycling process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention or inventions to improve on theprior art. Another object of the invention is to reduce the extent towhich odors and tasks such as moving, separating or storing organicwaste cause people to be frustrated with organic waste management andrecycling. The inventor has discovered that for users to be satisfiedwith, and fully participate in, an organic waste management andrecycling process, most users need to have the sight, smell and bulk ofraw organic waste immediately removed from their living or workingspace. Accordingly, another object of the inventions is to provide oneor more devices or processes for converting raw organic waste into aless offensive state or outcome, and to provide further processes forhandling or using the outcome. The following summary describes variousfeatures of the inventions to aid in understanding the exemplaryembodiments described later, but does not define or limit the inventionwhich may reside in a combination of some or all of the elements orsteps described in this section or other parts of this document.

In some aspects, the invention relates to converting organic waste intoone or more manufactures, materials or compositions of matter, whichwill be called outcomes. An outcome is created and exists at anintermediate point in time between when a person or machine deems theorganic matter to be waste and when the matter is disposed of or inputinto a process for using it, for example for compost, fuel or some otherpurpose. The outcome is more convenient and less offensive for users todeal with than raw organic waste. In particular, the outcome may be oneor more of less smelly, more compact, lighter, cleaner to handle, morevisually attractive or easier to handle or store. For example, theoutcome may be dried pieces of organic waste, each piece having nodimension longer than a few cm. Or the outcome may be a solid ofsubstantially fixed shape, for example a brick, granule, pellet, sheetor disc etc., made of substantially dry pieces or organic matter. Thepieces may be held together with a biodegradable or compostable binderor may be closely packed or compacted. Further optionally, the solidsmay be in a generally uniform or modular shape and size, may containmasking odors, or may be colored. The outcomes are sufficiently dry toprevent or at least substantially reduce microbial growth and itsrelated odors. The outcomes remain substantially free of microbialgrowth for a useful period of time, for example between a few days andup to about one month, if kept out of contact with rain or soil but canbe decomposed intentionally. Such outcomes may be enjoyable to handle,leave minimal residue on the hands, and be efficiently packed forremoval to the curb or other destinations. The outcomes are moreconvenient to handle and less offensive than raw organic waste and soencourage users to divert organic waste from other garbage and toparticipate in composting or other programs. The outcomes can also bekept in the home or garage for extended periods of time, for examplefrom a few days to about a month or more, without creating intolerableodors and so may allow the user to take garbage out less often than oncea week at a savings of inconvenience to the user and cost to themunicipality.

In other aspects, the invention relates to processes for producing theone or more outcomes. The processes for producing dried pieces oforganic waste involve reducing raw organic waste to pieces and dryingthe organic waste. The organic waste may be dried before or after it isreduced and the reducing and drying may be performed by a variety ofprocesses or combinations of processes. There may optionally be othersteps such as washing; adding colors or odors; or wetting, for exampleto facilitate reducing the organic waste. The processes for producingsolids involve, reducing raw organic waste to pieces; producing amixture of the pieces, water and a biodegradable or compostable binderin proportions such that a solid may be formed from them; forming themixture into a shape; and, drying the shaped mixture. The mixture may beheated to aid in drying it or to enhance or activate the binder. Thebinder may be added to the water and organic waste or may be a substancealready present in the organic matter. Each step may be performed by avariety of processes. There may optionally be other steps such aswashing, wetting, draining, venting, moving, sensing, weighing,measuring, storing, freezing, compacting or adding additives such ascolors or odors. Some steps may also be repeated. For example, themixture may be formed into a shape, partially dried or heated, formedinto another shape, and then dried or heated further. Water, released asa liquid or vapor in some steps of the process, may be collected andrecycled for use in other steps of the process. An alternate processinvolves compacting the pieces of organic waste into a generally stablesolid shape. Pieces of wet or dried organic matter may optionally beproduced at an interim stage in the process of producing solids.

In other aspects, the invention relates to one or more apparatusescapable of performing a waste processing process, such as one or more ofthe processes described above. In some cases, an apparatus has aprocessing module and a receiving module. The processing module may bestationary or temporarily stationary, may have one or more ofelectrical, water, drain and venting connections and some or all of themachinery necessary to perform one or more of the processes describedabove, and may be adapted to temporarily store raw or partiallyprocessed organic waste or outcomes. The receiving module may beportable, is adapted to receive organic waste, may have some of themachinery necessary to perform one or more of the processes describedabove, and may be adapted to temporarily store raw or partiallyprocessed organic waste. When the receiving module is connected to theprocessing module, the organic waste may be transferred to theprocessing module and one or both modules may be operated to perform awaste processing process such as one or more of the processes describedabove. The processing module may be freestanding, for example resting ona countertop or on a floor. Optionally, the processing module may belocated below a sink and the receiving module and processing module mayinterface through a hole in the sink, for example a conventional drainopening. Further optionally, a conventional under sink garbage disposermay be used to provide an input to a processing module. The processingmodule may also be built into a cabinet unit or a unit containing otherappliances. The receiving module and processing module may also beintegrated into a single unit. Such apparatuses provide a means forusers to quickly and easily convert objectionable raw organic waste intoone or more of the outcomes.

In other aspects, the invention relates to one or more household organicwaste appliances. For example, an appliance has a receiving area, whichmay be a portable receiving module, and a processing area, which may bea stationary or mobile processing module. The receiving area is adaptedto receive and collect organic waste in a plenum. The receiving area mayalso have a reducing implement for reducing the organic matter and mayoptionally have an input for water to be added to the plenum. Thereceiving area has one or more outlets for discharging the contents ofthe plenum and the processing area is adapted to receive the organicmatter discharged from the receiving area. An injecting and mixingdevice or devices may add binder to the organic matter in either area.The receiving area may have a separating device for removing free liquidwater from the organic matter. Removed free liquid may be sent to adrain or saved for processing further organic matter. The receiving areahas solid or porous surfaces to form and support the organic matter in ashape. The receiving area may have openings for water vapor to exit theprocessing area as the organic matter dries or means to retain thevapor, for example as a liquid which can be sent to a drain or re-usedto process more organic matter. The processing area may also haveheaters for heating the organic matter while it dries into a solid. Theprocessing area also has an opening for the solid to exit the processingarea.

In other aspects, the invention provides one or more processes ormethods for handling or extracting value from the outcomes. In somecases, the outcomes are used privately, for example by placing them in agarden or compost pile. In other cases, the outcomes are collected foruse in municipal composting programs. In other cases, a user may tradethe outcomes to an organization in return for credits, money or otherconsideration. The qualities of the outcomes facilitate storing,collecting or transporting them.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various exemplary embodiments of the invention or inventions will bedescribed below with reference to the following drawings:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a first set of processes for making outcomes.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are photographs of a solid outcome.

FIG. 3 shows top and bottom views of another solid outcome.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a second process for making outcomes.

FIG. 5 shows various views of a receiving module of an apparatus forpracticing the process of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the receiving module of FIG. 5and schematic front and cut away views of a processing module of anapparatus for practicing the process of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of aspects of the interactionbetween the receiving module and processing module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-section of the receiving module and part ofthe processing module of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a chart of options for using outcomes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Outcomes and Methods for Producing Them

FIG. 1 illustrates a set of processes for converting organic matter intoone or more outcomes. A first process is shown in column A. The processbegins by collecting organic matter to be processed. The type of organicmatter collected may vary according to the intended use of the outcome.For example, if the outcome will be used in private composting, the usermay wish to collect only fruit, vegetable and cereal wastes typicallycomposted at home. However, and particularly if the outcome will be usedin municipal or commercial composting, the organic matter may includeall food wastes as well as absorbing paper products such as papertowels, tissues or napkins.

The collected organic matter is reduced in size by separating it intopieces, for example pieces having no dimension greater than about 3 cmor no dimension greater than about 1 cm. The matter may be reduced by avariety of means including shredding, mashing, crushing, milling andchopping. Screeners, classifiers or separators may be used to allowmatter below a desired size to exit the reducing process while retaininglarger matter that requires further reduction.

The organic matter is also dried to the point where microbial activitysubstantially stops. The drying can be performed by a variety of means,typically involving one or more of pressing, evaporation or sublimation,as known in the art of process drying. For example, the organic mattermay be dried using air bars, heaters, rotary dryers, air knives orinternal impingement drums, suction dryers, drum dryers, rotary tubes orbed dryers. As shown in column A, the drying may occur after the organicmatter is reduced in size. But the drying may also occur before thematter is reduced or at least partially while the organic matter isbeing reduced. The preferred order of steps may be chosen in view of thespecific methods chosen to reduce and dry the organic matter.

Additives may be added to the organic matter to give the matter a morepleasant appearance or odor. For example, food coloring or dies may beadded to make the organic matter green or some other desirable color.Highly aromatic, and preferably biodegradable, substances such as coffeegrinds or vanilla extract may be added to give the matter a desirablesmell. As shown in column A, the additives may be added after theorganic matter is reduced but before it is dried. The additives may alsobe added before the organics are reduced or after they are both reducedand dried. The preferred time to add additives, if any, may be chosen inview of the qualities of the additive and whether it is easier to mixinto dried or un-dried organics.

At the end of the process, substantially dry pieces of organic matterare produced as a first outcome. Because the outcome is in pieces it canbe packed with a reasonably high density into a receptacle for storageor transport. Because the outcome is dry, microbial activity hassubstantially stopped and so the pieces are generally odorless. However,the outcome will re-absorb moisture from the atmosphere in time. Theprecise extent to which the matter is dried may be chosen depending onhow long the user wants the outcome to remain generally odorless underthe expected conditions of storage. For example, the user may intend tostore the outcome for only a few days during a dry season before placingthe outcome on a compost pile for decomposition. In contrast, anotheruser may wish to store the outcome for a few weeks during a moist seasonbefore taking the outcome to a commercial composting plant. The firstuser will require significantly less drying than the second user toensure that the outcome remains generally odorless until the outcome isintentionally decomposed.

Column B shows another process for creating an outcome of substantiallydry pieces of organic matter. The process of column B is similar to theprocess of column A and much of the description above relating to columnA applies to column B. The process of column B differs, however, in thatwater is added to the organic matter before it is reduced to pieces. Theadditional water enhances the performance of many reducing methods, suchas chopping, and the amount of water added may be chosen in view of therequirements of the reducing method. After the organic matter isreduced, excess water is removed. The excess water may be removed usingany of the drying methods mentioned above. However, since a largerquantity of free liquid water is to be removed, other processes such asspinning, centrifuging or pressing against a screened or porous platemay be more efficient. Through the course of adding and removing water,the organic matter is washed to some extent and may then be easier todry to a generally odorless state.

The process of column B also differs from column A in that, althoughadditives may still be added at any stage, any additive added before theliquid water is removed may be partially washed away. It is also notoptional in the column B process to dry the organic matter before itwill be reduced in size. Further, the first three steps in the processof column B (inserting organic matter, adding water and reducing theorganic matter to pieces) may optionally be performed by an ordinaryunder sink garbage disposal unit. Such disposal units, however, uselarge amounts of water and may make the organic matter very fine andincrease the amount of organic matter that washes away when liquid wateris removed.

The process of column C can be used to convert the outcome created bythe process of columns A or B into a different outcome. The differentoutcome is a solid of substantially fixed shape made up of pieces oforganic matter dried to be generally odorless. The column C process isillustrated as a separate process, but it may also be merged with theprocess of either column A or B. In merging these processes, the stepsof removing and collecting the dry pieces of organic matter at the endof columns A or B and the beginning of column C may be deleted. However,to produce a solid of a specified size and shape, the amount of organicmatter used must be within a range determined by the tolerances of thesize and shape specifications. But since users may randomly generatemore or less organic matter over any particular period of time, thefirst step of columns A or B may be changed to collecting and storingorganic matter until an appropriate amount of organic matter iscollected. The organic matter can be stored in a sealed container,refrigerated or frozen to reduce odors while waiting for an appropriateamount of organic matter to be collected. Alternately, the appropriateamount of organic matter can be accumulated in the form of dry pieces oforganic matter between the process steps of columns A or B and C. Inthis embodiment, the process steps of columns A or B are performedwhenever the user wishes to process organic waste and with any amount ofwaste that the user wishes to process. The resulting dry pieces arestored until the required amount of organic matter, as determined byweight or volume or both, has been collected in the form of dry pieces.Since the dry pieces can be densely packed and are generally odorless,it may be easier to store and collect the required amount of organicmatter as dry pieces than as raw waste. Further alternately, the processmay be performed with any arbitrary amount of organic matter andallowing the size or shape of the outcome, or number of outcomesproduced, to change accordingly.

Referring now to column C, the pieces of organic matter are mixed withwater and a binder to form a slurry. The binder is capable of holdingthe pieces of dry organic matter together in a solid of generally fixedshape when stored in a protected environment, such as inside a garage orbuilding. But the binder breaks down when exposed to the elements sothat the solid may decompose or revert to loose pieces of organicmatter. For example, the binder may be an organic substance such as eggwhites, honey or a carbohydrate such as a starch or flour or sugar. Thespecific amounts of binder and water required may be selected in view ofthe binder used or other factors. For example, when flour is used as abinder for pieces of mixed organic kitchen waste, between about 2% and15% flour by volume can be added. When using these ratios, the volume ofthe flour is measured when the flour is dry and the volume of the piecesof waste is measured with the pieces in a slightly wet state resultingfrom mixing the pieces with water and then draining away excess waterthrough a sieve. The same ratios may also be used if the volume of thepieces of organic matter is measured dry. Adding an amount of flour nearthe high end of the range produces a more tightly bound solid and may beused for making thin sheet outcomes, when using large pieces of organicmatter, or when the outcome will be required to remain durable for longperiods of time, for example a month or more. Amounts of flour near thehigh end of the range may also cause the solid to dry faster. Amounts offlour near the low end of the range may be used for making brickoutcomes, when using small pieces of organic matter or when the outcomewill be composted a short time, for example about a week, after it ismade. For some organic wastes, the waste itself may provide a sufficientquantity of binder such that no additional amount of binder is required.The amount of water added is such that the slurry can be formed manuallyinto shapes and will generally hold a freestanding shape of a few cmhigh. Any additives may also be added during or after this stage if theyhave not been added earlier. Instead of collecting batches ofsubstantially dry pieces of organic matter sufficient to make a solid ofa desired size, all steps up to and including the step of forming aslurry in column C may be performed in batches until an amount of slurryis collected sufficient to make a desired solid.

The slurry is formed into a shape and dried into a solid. The shape maybe merely a mound or irregular sheet formed manually on a plate.However, a mold with at least a bottom and sides will produce a solid ofmore uniform shape and size. For example, FIG. 2A shows a brick 10formed manually on a sheet. Such a brick 10 may also be formed in a moldand may be made with a height of between about 1 and 5 cm, a depth ofbetween about 4 and 10 cm and a length of between about 10 and 25 cm.Such a brick 10 is a pleasant weight, size and shape to handle and maybe densely packed into boxes or piles easily. However, such a brick 10takes a significant amount of time to dry throughout and its sides 12may become slightly dished during drying. FIG. 2B shows various bricksor solids of different shapes 10A-10I. The brick in the upper left handcorner of FIG. 2B designated as 10I, has holes through it from top tobottom that reduces the required drying time and distortion to the sideswhile drying. FIG. 3 shows a plate 14 that dries faster and more evenlythan the brick 10. The plate 14 may be between about 3 mm and 2 cmthick, is pierced with holes 16 and has an undulating upper surface 18and lower surface 20. The plate 14 is formed in a mesh-walled mold andthe distance that water vapor needs to travel to leave the plate 14 isshorter and more nearly constant than for the brick 10. Outcomes mayalso be formed in a range of other shapes such as briquettes, flatsheets of between about 3 mm and 2 cm thick, granules, fibers or flakes.In addition to simple or mesh-sided molds, the desired shapes may beformed in other devices such as isostatic compacting presses, powdercompacting equipment, or tableting or uniaxial presses. Compacters orpresses may also be used to form the dry pieces of organic matterdirectly into a generally solid shape either with or without addingwater or a binder to the pieces. Pressing the slurry into a porous moldalso aids in drying the solid. If desired, the user could also use theslurry itself as an outcome, although it will be an outcome of shortduration.

As for the dry pieces of organic matter, the solid outcomes are dried toa moisture content that makes them durable in anticipated environmentalconditions when stored not in contact with liquid water or soil for adesired period of time that may be up to or over one month. While theslurry is dried into a solid, it may also be heated either to increasethe rate of drying or to improve the activity of the binder. Heat can beprovided by a number of methods that either heat the slurry directly orthrough the mold or by a combination of methods. The slurry may beheated to between about 35 C. to 100 C. or between about 35 C. and 50 C.If the organic matter includes bone, a higher temperature, for example150 C. or more, may be used to help solidify the gelatin in bone waste.As examples, heat can be provided by steam, convection, thermal oil,combustion, fluid compression, electricity, microwave,contact/dielectric, conduction, radiant or infrared. The heat may alsokill some additional microorganisms or cause changes in the chemicalstructure of the organic waste and extend the time for which the solidremains durable. Treating the organic matter with ozone or UV radiationmay also kill some additional microorganisms and extend the time forwhich the solid remains durable.

The appropriate dryness of the solid, or the process parameters thatproduce the appropriate dryness, can be determined by trial and errorfor storage in various environments. Once the appropriate dryness hasbeen determined for a desired solid size and shape and storageconditions, that dryness level can be obtained by repeating the processwith the empirically determined parameters, by checking the dryness ofthe solid from time to time with a moisture content meter while it isdrying, or by noting visual cues indicating a state of dryness. Visualcues may include dishing or cracking of some surfaces, changes in coloror changes in the shape or size of the solid. Changes in size or weightof the solid may also be correlated with dryness and measured from timeto time while a solid is drying to determine when the solid issufficiently dry. The drying process may be machine controlled, forexample by linking a moisture content meter or electronic scare to aprogrammable logic controller configured to stop the drying process whena target weight or moisture content is reached. A moisture content of20% or less, or 15% or less, or between 5% and 15%, the percentagecalculated based on the weight of water in the outcome divided by theweight of the outcome including the water in it, may be present in thedried outcome. For example, the moisture content of two sample outcomebricks were tested using an oven drying method similar to ASTM D644:M99“Standard Test Method for Moisture Content of Paper and Paperboard byOven Drying”. The measured moisture contents were about 11% and 5% basedon the original sample weight or about 12% and 6% based on the ovendried weight.

FIG. 4 shows another process for producing solid outcomes. The processof FIG. 4 resembles a combination of the processes of columns B and C ofFIG. 1 but differs in that an intermediate outcome of substantially drypieces of organic matter is not produced. Accordingly, some processsteps of Columns B and C of FIG. 1 are not required.

The process of FIG. 4 begins by collecting organic matter to beprocessed. Water may be added to the organic matter if necessary ordesired. As mentioned above, some reducing processes operate better inthe presence of water but the organic matter itself may contain asignificant amount of water that will be released as soon as the organicmatter is reduced. Accordingly, in some cases the organic mattersupplies water for the process.

The organic matter is reduced to pieces and the water content of theorganic matter may then be adjusted. For example, if an excess of waterwas present to facilitate reducing the organic matter, then water istypically removed after the organic matter is reduced. The water contentmay be adjusted to a level that is sufficient, or slightly more thansufficient, for the intended binder. The water content may also beadjusted to a pre-selected state of wetness to facilitate the remainingprocess steps. Such a pre-selected state may also be achieved by addingan appropriate amount of water before the organic matter is reduced.

After the organic matter has been reduced, it is checked to see if thereis an appropriate amount of organic matter for making a desired size,shape and number of outcomes. For example, the weight, volume or both ofthe organic matter may be measured and compared to a pre-determinedweight, volume or both known to produce a desired number of solids of adesired size and shape. This step is typically easier to perform at apre-selected state of wetness since variation in wetness does not needto be considered. But this step may also be performed with a randomdegree of wetness, for example by allowing the pieces to settle orpressing the pieces to the bottom of a container and measuring theirvolume. If an appropriate amount of organic matter is present, then theprocess continues. If not, then more organic matter is collected andpartially processed until an appropriate amount of organic matter iscollected. As discussed above, the user may also determine how much raworganic waste is required to form the desired outcome and commence theprocess only with the required amount of organic waste. In this case, itwill not be necessary to check for an appropriate amount of pieces laterin the process but it may be necessary to store raw waste temporalityuntil an appropriate amount is accumulated. The stored organic mattermay be frozen or otherwise prevented from producing odors while waitingfor an appropriate amount of organic matter to be collected.Alternately, the process may also be run with any arbitrary amount oforganic matter. In this case, however, the number, size or shape of theoutcomes may vary. For example, if a brick 10 will be formed in an openpan, the height of the brick will vary in relation to the amount oforganic matter used. If a plate 14 will be formed between upper andlower forms, then the width or length of the plate 14 may vary with theamount of organic matter used.

A binder and, optionally, any other additives may be mixed with theorganic matter. However, in some cases the organic matter itself maycontain significant amounts of binders and so no additional binder isadded. Although FIG. 4 shows the binder being mixed in after the watercontent is adjusted, the binder may optionally be mixed in before thewater content is adjusted. If the water content is adjusted by removingliquid water, then some of the binder will be washed away, but it may beeasier to mix in the binder while the water content is higher. As forthe other processes, additives such as food coloring or dies or pleasantaromas can be added at various points in the process and need not beadded where indicated in FIG. 4. Once the slurry has been created, theremaining process steps are the same as described for Column C of FIG.4.

In the absence of any special equipment, the processes above may beperformed using common kitchen appliances. For example, to perform theprocess of FIG. 1, Column A, the user may place organic waste into ablender. The user turns the blender on until the user may see that theorganic matter has been chopped into small pieces. The user may drop anyadditives into the blender while the organic matter is being chopped.The user then pours the pieces out of the blender onto a cooking sheetand heats them in an oven until they are dry. When the pieces are dry,the user takes the cooking sheet out of the oven and dumps the drypieces into a bag, bucket or other container. The process of FIG. 1,Column B may be performed in essentially the same way except that theuser pours water into the blender with the organic waste. After theorganic matter is chopped up, the user may remove the liquid water byallowing the pieces of organic matter to settle and then pouring excesswater out of the top of the blender. Alternately, the user may pour thecontents of the blender into a sieve and keep only the retained piecesof organic matter. To perform the process of FIG. 1, Column C, the usermay collect the dry pieces of organic matter in a mixing bowl. The userthen pours in water, a binder and any desired additives, places thebeaters of a mixer into the bowl and turns the mixer on until a slurryforms. The user may then pour the slurry into a bread or cake pan andput it in an oven for drying. Once dry, the user takes the pan out ofthe oven and turns it over so that the solid drops out. For the processof FIG. 4, the user may place water and organic matter in a blender andturn the blender on to reduce the organic matter to pieces. Ifnecessary, supernatant water may again be poured off the top of theblender or the contents of the blender strained to remove liquid water.The user then pours the pieces of organic matter into a mixing bowl. Ifthe pieces are too dry at this point for mixing with the binder, thenthe user adds water as necessary. The user then completes the process asdescribed for the end of the process of FIG. 1, Column C. In all ofthese processes, if the user wishes to collect a certain amount of raworganic matter before processing it, the user may keep odors low whileaccumulating the waste organic matter by collecting it in a sealedcontainer or in a container kept cool in a refrigerator or frozen in afreezer.

As an example, the inventor collected household kitchen waste andreduced it in a blender with an excess of water until the pieces oforganic waste were not more than about 3 mm in any dimension. Theinventor then emptied the waste into a sieve to remove excess water. Theinventor then collected more household waste and similarly blended itwith water and poured it in the sieve. When the sieve contained about650 cubic cm of pieces, the pieces were mixed with a full tablespoon offlour for a binder, and formed into a brick shape of about 4 cm by 8 cmby 20 cm. The pan was heated in an oven at 50 C. for about 32 hours. Theresulting brick remained dry to the touch and substantially odorless forat least about three weeks. In another example, the inventor similarlyproduced pieces of organic matter but having no dimension more thanabout 2 cm. The pieces were poured from the sieve into cheesecloth andpressed by hand to remove more water. The pieces were then mixed withflour and spread out in a sheet about 1 cm thick in a pan. The inventorpoked holes of about 7 mm in diameter through the sheet. The sheet washeated in an oven for about 5 hours at about 50 C. The resulting sheetremained dry to the touch and substantially odorless for at least abouttwo weeks.

For further example, discarded organic matter, such as kitchen waste,may be chopped by machine or by hand into chunks of about 5 cm or lessin their longest dimension. The organic matter may be, for example,vegetable scraps, vegetable and bread scraps, vegetable and bread scrapsand absorbent papers, cooked leftovers or vegetable scraps and cookedleftovers. The chunks are placed in a mixing bowl and their volumemeasured without compacting them. About 125 mL of water per liter ofchunks and about 125 mL of flour per liter of chunks is added to thebowl. Colouring or odourous substances may also be added. Further, aboutone teaspoon of sugar per liter of chunks may be added to the bowl. Thesugar makes a finished solid more brittle, which tends to reduce thetime required to compost it, and also reduces the required drying time.The contents of the bowl are blended for about 30 seconds or until thecontents become a rough paste. Additional water may be added if a pastewill not form. Alternately, adding about 250 mL of water per liter ofchunks to the bowl initially, instead of 125 ml of water per liter ofchunks as stated above, generally avoids the need to add additionalwater later to create a paste. However, additional water or an increasedinitial amount of water is often not needed, particularly when theorganic waste includes cooked leftovers or other waste having a highwater content.

The paste is transferred to a sieve or cheesecloth and pressed by handto release water. The water-reduced paste is then transferred to a flatcooking sheet and formed, for example by hand or with a spatula, into ablock or other shape. The cooking sheet and shape are placed in an ovenheated to between 200 and 300 F. for about 30 minutes. After this time,the shape is retrieved from the oven and pressed further into a smalleror more geometric shape. The solid may be re-shaped since the flour orother parts of the mixture will have started to bind or coagulate makinga shape easier to form. Also, air pockets may have formed that may bereleased allowing a smaller shape. Holes, for example holes of about 0.5cm diameter spaced roughly 1 to 2 cm apart, may be poked through theshape with a dowel at this stage to speed future drying. The shape isreturned to the oven. The oven is turned off, but the door left closedallowing the shape to dry as the oven loses heat to the environment.

Drying may also be accomplished without heating. For example, the slurrymay be placed in a mold and left to air dry. Drying will be faster ifthe mold is porous, for example if at least some sides are made ofscreen or cloth. The porous mold provides more surface area for moistureto leave the solid as well as allowing some liquid water to drip out.Drying the paste outdoors, but out of contact with rain, in a porousmold produces a sufficiently dry solid particularly in dry or sunnyweather without using energy for heating.

In all of the processes described above, water released in some stepsmay be recycled for use in other steps. For example, water is releasedas a liquid or vapor during drying steps and as a liquid during steps ofremoving liquid water or adjusting the moisture content of pieces oforganic matter. This water may be collected and used, for example, insteps of adding water, or mixing pieces of organic waste with water. Ingeneral, the steps that require water precede the steps in which wateris released. Accordingly, an initial supply of water is required toperform a first batch, if a process is performed wholly or partially asa batch process, or to start a continuous process and run a continuousprocess before recycled water is available. Although an initial supplyof water may be required, the processes produce water overall since themoisture content of the organic matter is reduced. For this reason, notall releases of water need to be captured to sustain a repeated batch orcontinuous process. For example, vapors produced during drying steps maybe captured since they provide relatively clean water that may be storedwithout further treatment until required without excessive growth ofmicroorganisms in the water. Alternately, recycling water released insteps of removing liquid water or adjusting the water content of thepieces of organic matter reduces the amount of dissolved or very smallpieces or organic matter that are not captured by the process. However,this water may require treatment, such as UV or chemical disinfection orrefrigeration, if it will be stored for extended periods of time beforereuse and may require adjustment, for example by filtration,clarification or other separation processes, to prevent it from becominghighly concentrated with organic matter. Organic matter separated fromthe recycled water may itself be recycled to and re-enter the process ascollected organic matter.

Although the processes described above result in a dried outcome, theprocesses may optionally be stopped at other phases. For example, theprocess may stop when a slurry is present. The slurry may be useful whena user wants an outcome for immediate use that decomposes very rapidly,since the slurry will decompose faster than raw organic matter.

Apparatus for Producing Outcomes

FIGS. 5 to 8 show an apparatus 30 for producing solid outcomes.Referring first to FIG. 5, the apparatus 30 has a receiving module 32for collecting organic waste. The receiving module 32 has a base 34 andsides 36 that create an internal space for collecting and holding waste.A lid 38 is hinged to one of the sides 36 and may be closed to generallyseal the space inside the receiving module 32 or opened to allow theuser to insert waste. The lid 38 may seal the space inside of thereceiving module 32 to a sufficient degree so that odors are not sensedby users from organic matter that may remain in the receiving module 32for most of a day. The lid 38 is balanced to remain open when fullyopened and has a finger depression 40 to allow the user to lift it. Ahandle 42 flips up or down for carrying. When the handle 42 is down itdoes not protrude beyond the sides 36 of the receiving module 32. Anapparatus 30 may have a plurality of receiving modules 32. The receivingmodules 32 may be dispersed throughout a household or business, and keptat collection points in a kitchen, dining room, bathroom or whereverorganic waste is produced. The receiving module 32 may have an exteriormade of stainless steel or other attractive and safe materials. Manyother shapes may also be used for the receiving module 32. For example,in some embodiments, the handle 42 may protrude from beyond the sides36. Two handles 42 may be used on opposed sides 36 to make the receivingmodule 32 ambidextrous. The receiving module 32 may be made to have aremovable lid 38 and height, for example of 25 cm or less, such that itmay be periodically washed in the bottom drawer of a dishwasher.

Referring to FIG. 6, the apparatus 30 also has a processing module 44and a system controller 50. The system controller 50 manages theoperation of the processing module 44. The system controller 50 ismounted in a location accessible to the user and contains controls foroperating or programming the apparatus 30 and an interface that givesthe user feedback and prompts the user to make any required choices oractions. For example, the system controller 50 gives the useroperational and standby status information and notice of any need forfresh supplies such as binder. In other embodiments, householdparticulars may be entered into the system controller such as the timeor user's address. The system controller 50 may also be programmed tokeep track of the local garbage pickup schedules and remind the userwhen garbage needs to be put out. The system controller may also allowthe user to specify preferences or over-ride pre-programmed routines tochange the operation of the processing module 44. For example, in someembodiments the user may specify the desired size, shape or form oroutput, the amount of binder to use, whether to use any additives suchas colors or odors, the moisture content for the output, or whether theoutput should be wrapped, bagged, or bar-coded to contain householdinformation.

The processing module 44 may be a freestanding unit as shown. Ifdesired, however, the processing module 44 may alternately be installedunder a kitchen counter. When the processing module 44 is installedunder a counter, the top 46 of the processing module 44 may sit in ahole in the counter either flush with the counter top or slightly aboveor below it. Further alternately, the processing module 44 may beinstalled under a sink with some alteration. In particular, portions ofthe processing module 44 above the sink bottom 49 shown in FIG. 6 arediscarded or relocated to locations below the sink bottom 49. A hole isprovided in the sink bottom 49 so that receiving module 32 may stillcommunicate as necessary with the processing module 44. A plug, notshown, seals the hole when the apparatus is not in use. Alternately oradditionally, parts of the processing module 44 that are accessible tothe hole are made waterproof and configured so that water will not runout of the sink through the processing module 44. When the processingmodule 44 is mounted under a counter or sink, at least the userinterface parts of the system controller 50 may be separated from theremainder of the processing module 44 and mounted in a locationconvenient to the user.

FIG. 7 shows aspects of how the receiving module 32 interacts with theprocessing module 44. In part A, the receiving module 32 is placed on agate 52 of the processing module 44. The user may then push a button onthe system controller 50 that causes a motor, solenoid, or hydraulic orpneumatic cylinder or other mechanism, not shown, to open the gate 52.Alternately, the processing module 44 may be configured such that thegate 52 opens when user passes his or her hand in front of a motiondetector (infrared sensor) on the processing module 44. Alternately, theprocessing module 44 may be configured such that the gate 52 opens whena sensor on the processing module 44 detects the presence of thereceiving module 32.

As shown in FIG. 7, Part B, with the gate 52 open, the receiving module32 slides into a track 54 in the processing module 44. A scrubber 56 inthe track 54 applies sufficient force to hold the receiving module 32part of the way down the track 54 if desired. The receiving module 32may be left in this position, optionally with the lid 38 left open,while waste is being generated. In this position, the receiving module32 provides a convenient counter top, or counter top height, place todeposit waste as it is produced. Optionally, the receiving module 32 maybe insulated and fitted with a small refrigeration unit that is turnedon only when the lid is closed. The refrigeration unit may be powered bybatteries which are recharged automatically when the receiving module 32is in the track 54. Alternately, the refrigeration unit may be powereddirectly from the processing module 44 when the receiving module 32 isin the track 54. The refrigeration unit prevents significant odors fromdeveloping if waste is left in the receiving module 32 for extendedperiods of time.

When the user wishes to process the waste, the user closes the lid 38 ifit is open and pushes the receiving module 32 to the end of the track 54where it engages with the processing mechanisms 58 of the processingmodule 44. Pressure contacts, not shown, or other sensors sense when thereceiving module 32 is fully engaged and signal the gate 52 to close.The pressure contacts also send a signal indicating that the receivingmodule 32 is engaged to the processing module 44. Alternately, the usermay be required to move a lever, rotate a knob, flick a switch thattriggers a solenoid or perform some other action to engage the receivingmodule by physically connecting it to the processing module 44. In thiscase, the signal indicating that the receiving module 32 is not sentuntil a sensor confirms that the physical connection has been made. Theprocessing module 44 is configured to only permit process stepsinvolving the receiving module 32 to occur while the receiving module 32is engaged. However, where the user performs a function to physicallyconnect the modules 32, 44, that function may also be used to power afunction. For example, a lever pulled by the user to connect the modules32, 44 may also activate the release of an amount of binder into thereceiving module 32. To do this, the binder may be located in a tubethat is compressed by a plunger mechanically linked to the lever. Addingthe binder to the receiving module 32 may increase the amount of binderthat is washed away when the solid is dewatered, but may also allow forbetter mixing of the binder with the organic matter.

After the waste is transferred to the processing module 44, thereceiving module 32 will be empty and the system controller will causethe gate 52 to open. The user then reaches into the processing unit 44,lifts the handle of the receiving module 32 and lifts it out. The userthen pushes a button on the system controller 50 to instruct it to closethe gate 52. Optionally, the processing module 44 may be fitted withsensors that signal the system controller 50 to close the gate 52 whenthe receiving module 32 has been fully removed. As discussed below, theinside of the receiving module 32 will have been rinsed with water atthe end of the processing steps, optionally with heated water or watercontaining a disinfectant. If desired, however, the user may also spraythe inside of the receiving module 32 with a cleaner, anti-microbialagent or scent-neutralizer after removing it from the processing module44.

The apparatus 30 may also have the components of the receiving module32, processing module 44 and system controller 50 merged into a singleappliance body. In this case, some elements required to connect thereceiving module 32 to the processing module 44, as described above, arenot required. For example, components of the receiving module 32 may bepermanently located in the position shown in Part C of FIG. 7. The gate52 and track 54 and other components may be removed and the lid 38 ofthe receiving module 32 made to open directly to the outside of theapparatus. In that configuration, a user brings all waste to beprocessed to the apparatus 30 for insertion through the lid 38. However,an alternate means of causing the processing module 44 to start isrequired since the action of engaging the receiving module 32 no longerperforms that function. For example, the lid 38 may be provided with asensor that signals for processing to start every time that the lid 38is closed. Alternately, the controller 50 may be provided with a startbutton and the user required to indicate when processing should start byactivating the button, a lever or similar device. Alternately, thereceiving module 32 may be fitted with weight or level sensors and thecontroller 50 adapted to start processing when a threshold weight orheight of organic matter is present in the receiving module 32. Thesemethods may also be combined or other methods used. For example,processing may begin when a threshold weight of organic matter isreached unless the user bushes a button or switch to start processingbefore the threshold is reached. Such an integrated apparatus 30 mayalso be placed in its entirety under a sink. In such a case, the lid 38may protrude through the sink so that water does not drain out of thesink through the apparatus 30 when not intended and the normal sinkdrain retained. In addition, the presence of the lid 38 may encourageusers not to put soap or cleaning chemicals that may be used in a sinkinto the apparatus while still making it possible to add water to thereceiving module 32 by simply turning on the tap to the sink while thelid 38 is open. However, the apparatus 30 may also be used without a lid38, or with a lid 38 or other closure that may be attached or closedonly while processing waste, and receive matter directly from theordinary sink drain. In this case, since there will be times when verylarge amounts of water are discharged from the sink which wouldotherwise require very frequent processing, the receiving module 32 maybe provided with a large screened outlet to drain partway up its side.In that way, some water, as is useful for processing, may remain in thereceiving module, while excess water flows through. The outlet is closedwhile processing. Optionally, a diverter may be inserted between thesink and the apparatus 30. The diverter allows solid matter to drop tothe apparatus 30 while passing excess water to a drain.

FIG. 6 shows the processing mechanisms 58 of the processing module 44and working parts of the receiving module 32 in greater detail. Alsoreferring to FIG. 8, the receiving module 32 has a frame 60 that may bemade, for example, of stainless steel and supports the other parts ofthe receiving module 32. A perforated liner 62 lines the inner spacewhere raw waste is held. The holes in the perforated liner 62 are sizedso that only organic matter that has been reduced to a desired size willpass through them. Blades 64 are mounted inside of the perforated liner62 for reducing the organic waste to size. In some embodiments, theblades 64 are covered by blade covers (not shown) which are withdrawnwhen the receiving module 32 is engaged to protect against the usertouching the blades 64 while inserting waste. Two sets of blades 64 areshown, but a single set of blades 64 may also be used.

The blades 64 are mounted to a male blade power feed 66 that engages afemale blade power feed 68 when the receiving module 32 is engaged inthe processing module 44. The female blade power feed 68 is driven by ablade pulley 70 that is attached to a motor 74 (shown only in FIG. 6)through a main axle 72. The blades 64 may differ in size and shape.Alternately, each blade 64 may be attached to a different one of twoconcentric male blade power feeds 66. Each of the two male power feeds66 engages a different one of two concentric female blade power feeds 68when the receiving module 32 is engaged. Each of the two female powerfeeds 68 may be driven by a different one of two blade pulleys 70. Thetwo blade pulleys 70 (shown in FIG. 8) may be attached to the same mainaxle 72. However, either the two female power feeds 68 or the two bladepulleys 70, or both, may have different diameters such that each blade64 moves at different speeds. By the variations in blade size, shape orspeed, each blades 64 may be optimized to act on a different size ortypes of organic matter.

The main axle 72 also drives a water pump 76 that is connected, when thereceiving module 32 is engaged, through a water junction 78 and a waterinput line 80 to one or more water inlets 82 opening into the receivingmodule. Thus to wet and reduce organic matter in the receiving module,the motor 74 is turned on to spray water into the receiving module whiledriving the blades 64. Alternately, the water pump 76, water junction78, water input line 80 and water inlets 82 may be omitted. In thatcase, the user may put water into the receiving module 32, for exampleby placing it under a tap in a sink, before engaging the receivingmodule 32 with the processing module 44. After processing, the receivingmodule 32 may be taken back to the sink for rinsing out or put into adishwasher.

Reduced pieces of organic matter and water passes through the perforatedliner 62, through water take out channels 84 and drain connections 86 tothe processing module 44 (labeled in FIG. 6). Drain valves 88 in theprocessing module 44 are open while the motor 74 is turned on. A drainsensor 90 senses when pieces of organic matter are no longer passinginto the processing module 44 and then signals the motor 74 to stopafter a short period of time so that the receiving module 32 will berinsed with water from the water jet. In some embodiments, the rinsingwater is heated or injected with a disinfectant. Once the receivingmodule 32 is empty, the gate 52 opens and the user may remove thereceiving module 32.

The water and pieces of organic matter pass into a forming chamber 92 inthe processing module 44. As this happens, binder, or a mix of binderand other additives, is injected through a binder inlet 94. The binderis drawn from a binder reservoir 108 (shown in FIG. 6) which the usermay refill or replace from the front of the processing module 44. Thebinder is mixed with the pieces of organic matter by the force of itsinjection and the turbulence of the water entering the forming chamber92. Alternately, the binder inlet 94 and reservoir 108 (shown in FIG. 6)may be omitted and the user may deposit binder into the receiving module32 before connecting it to the processing module 44. Further, the binderinlet 94 may be adapted to mate with an inlet of the receiving module 32such that binder is injected in the receiving module 32 on or directlyafter engaging the modules 32, 44 together. By these alternatives, thebinder or other additives are mixed with the organic waste as it isreduced in size.

The mix of pieces of organic matter, binder and water lands onto ascreen floor 96 in the forming chamber 92. Free liquid water flowsthrough the screen floor 96 and past a drying rod assembly 98 and leavesthe forming chamber 92 through a forming chamber drain 100. A slurry ofpieces of organic matter, binder and surface held water remain on top ofthe screen floor 96 and flow by gravity into a shape defined by thescreen floor 96, walls of the forming chamber 92 and drying rod assembly98.

A weight sensor 116 communicates with the screen floor 96 and senses theweight of the pieces of organic matter (and water attached to them)resting on the screen floor. The system controller 50 (shown in FIG. 6)compares the sensed weight to specifications relating to the outputthrough an algorithm that determines whether enough organic matter ispresent. The algorithm may simply compare the weight of the organicmatter to a minimum weight for the selected outcome. Alternately, thesystem controller 50 may allow the user to indicate what sort of wastehas been entered. The indication may be made, for example, by pushingone of a set of buttons indicating whether the bulk of any load ofmatter is one of raw vegetables, cereals, absorbent paper, cookedleftovers or other options each time a load of matter is transferredfrom the receiving module 32. The system controller tracks theadditional weight sensed by weight sensor 116 after each load of organicmatter is added to the processing module 44 and a parameter indicatingwhich button was pushed when the organic matter was transferred from thereceiving module. The algorithm includes parameters corresponding to anestimated moisture content assigned to the different types of waste,calculates the estimated moisture content of the total amount of organicmatter present, and adjusts the threshold weight according to a formulaaccounting for the estimated moisture content and the selected outcome.The outcome or output specifications are either preset or programmed bythe user. The system controller 50 prevents further process steps fromoccurring until enough organic matter is collected. If the systemcontroller 50 determines that an appropriate amount of organic matterhas been collected while more organic matter is still being reduced inthe receiving module 32, the reducing operation is shut down until theoutput is made and removed from the processing module 44. While theoutcome is being made, the system controller 50 may be programmed torelease the receiving module 32 to the user. Alternately, the user mayover-ride all of these functions or program the system controller sothat further process steps occur right after the receiving module 32 isemptied. In this case, random sizes, shapes or numbers of outcomes willbe produced.

When the process is to continue, heating elements 102, which may beelectrically powered radiant, infrared or microwave heaters, heat theslurry directly and indirectly by heating the drying rod assembly 98. Asthe slurry dries into a solid, moisture is drawn off through a moisturescavenging port 104. When a moisture sensor 106 indicates that thesolidified slurry has reached a desired moisture content, the heatingelements 102 are turned off. Prior to heating, the slurry may optionallybe pressed. To press the slurry, the top of the forming chamber 92 maybe fitted with a plate, not shown, movable to push the slurry againstthe screen floor 96 for a time and then retract. The extension of theplate may be stopped when a set distance is reached if the solid willalways be of generally the same size or when a certain pressure isreached. The pressing plate may be moved automatically and be, forexample, electrically powered. The pressing plate may also be movedmanually, for example by providing a leaver on the side of theprocessing module 44 mechanically linked to the pressing plate.

Moisture collected through moisture scavenging port 104 during dryingmay be released to atmosphere either directly or through filters toremove odors. Referring to FIG. 6, the collected moisture may byconverted into liquid water by connecting the moisture scavenging port104 shown in FIG. 8) to a moisture input 130 to a moisture liquefyingdevice 132 such as a condenser, dehumidifier or other device. Themoisture liquefying device 132 may also include or be connected inseries, with an odor reducing device 140, such as a gas porous membranemodule or activated charcoal canister, to reduce odors before air orother gases are discharged through an exhaust 142. Liquid water producedfrom the vapor may be sent through a recycled vapor drain 134 to ahousehold drain and leave the processing module 44. Alternately, theliquid water may flow through the recycled vapor drain 134 to areceptacle 136 for collected water within or connected to the processingmodule 44. Similarly, forming chamber drain 100 may be connected to ahousehold drainpipe such that free liquid water leaves the processingmodule 44 or to a forming chamber water input 138 to receptacle 136. Theuser may empty the water in the receptacle 136 from time to time or thereceptacle 136 may be fitted with an overflow 144 to a household drain.The receptacle 136 may be closed, fitted with filters on any outlet,treated with ozone or UV radiation, chilled or otherwise treated orconfigured to minimize the creation or escape of odors. The receptaclemay be connected to the water pump 76 through a water supply line 146and sized to be able to provide the source of water to wet the organicmatter in the receiving module 32. In this way, no water, other than aninitial fill of the receptacle 136, is required to process the waste.Moisture may also be collected, for reuse or to remove it from theprocessing module 44, by allowing it to condense on surfaces ofprocessing module 44 from where it drips or runs down surfaces to theforming chamber drain 100.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, because the solid is drier thanthe raw organic waste, and both liquid and gaseous forms of water are atleast partially recaptured, the processing module 44 may produce anexcess of water such that the receptacle 136 only needs to be filled oninitial start up of the apparatus 30. However, the water in thereceptacle 136 contains organic matter. The concentration of the organicmatter is reduced by the recycled water from the moisture liquefyingdevice 132 and so does not tend to become excessive for use inprocessing organic waste. However, the water in receptacle 136 does notprovide an entirely clean source of water for rinsing the receivingmodule 32. For rinsing, switch 148 may be operated to connect water pump76 (shown in FIG. 8) with a household water inlet 150 or to anotherreservoir dedicated to holding rinse water. Alternately, a watertreatment device such as a clarifier or filter may be added to thereceptacle or in line with water supply line 146 to treat the water inreceptacle 136 to make it suitable for rinsing. Further alternately,clean water reclaimed from vapor produced while drying may be providedfirst to a reservoir for rinsing water and, if and when that reservoiris filled, to drain or to receptacle 136 for process water. In that way,clean rinsing water may still be obtained without requiring a hook-up toa household water supply. The receptacle 136 may also be configured orused to decant the water entering it, with only an upper portion lean insolids re-used as water and a lower portion rich in solids either sentto drain or returned to the forming chamber 92, (shown in FIG. 8), byflowing it onto a solid that is drying in the forming chamber 92.Whichever line supplies water for rinsing may also be fitted with aheater or chemical injector if a heater or disinfecting rinse isdesired.

Referring again to FIG. 8, after the solid is dry and heating elements102 are turned of, plungers 118 lift the solid upwards and move itsideways or rotate it so that it drops to a receiving platform 110.Alternately, heating elements 102 may be configured to not protrude intothe solid or to be retractable and plungers 118 configured to slide thesolid sideways off of the screen floor 96 through a hinged side panel informing chamber 92. Further alternately, forming chamber 92 may beconfigured so that the user may slide it out on a track to remove thesolid. The system controller 50 indicates that the solid is complete andthe user may open a service door 112 or pull out the forming chamber 92.Forming chamber 92 may also be made to slide out of the processingmodule 44 automatically when the solid is complete. The user may thentake the solid away or store it in a pull out drawer 114 (shown in FIG.6) at the base of the apparatus 30. If desired, output may be producedthat is sufficiently dry to be stored for two or three weeks or a monthbefore it is thrown out, recycled, composted or used for anotherpurpose.

Referring again to FIG. 6, the apparatus 30 may also be adapted forother configurations. For example, rather than standing in a fixedposition, apparatus 30 may be made partially mobile through the use of360 degree free-roaming casters 156 or other mobility devices such aswheels. Apparatus 30 may also be converted into a countertop unit byremoving or relocating parts of the apparatus 30 below countertop base152 shown in FIG. 6. To make a countertop apparatus 30 more compact andless tall, the receiving platform 110 is replaced by a smaller volumepull out tray 154 that also, in use, provides limited storage ofproduced outcomes. In both free-roaming and countertop versions ofapparatus 30, the use of elements described above to recycle water maybe sued to avoid the need for any hook-ups to household water suppliesor drains although the user is then required to fill and enter one ormore reservoirs. Alternately, releasable water inlet and drainconnections may be used. For example, an inlet line may have aspring-loaded connection to a fitting on a sink aerator and a drain linemay be run from the apparatus 30 to discharge into a sink. A combinedconnection, for example a sink mounted inlet and drain connection asused for portable dishwashers, may also be used. Depending on relativeelevations, a free-roaming apparatus 30 may require a pump to dischargewater to drain.

For a countertop apparatus 30, reducing size is generally desirable andso many features of the apparatus 30 described above may be removed. Forexample, water recycling features may be deleted to make the apparatus30 smaller even though water and drain hook-ups may be required. Thesystem controller 50 and the processes it controls may be made simpleror less automated which may reduce the size of the system controller 50and also remove the need for some related elements, such as sensors. Aless automated apparatus 30 may, for example, require the user to inputbinder into the receiving module 32 to avoid the need for binderreservoir 108 and binder transfer elements. Requiring the user to addwater to the receiving module 32 and rinse or wash the receiving module32 manually or in a dish washer may remove the need for a water pump 76and various fluid conduits, valves and connections. The apparent size ofa countertop apparatus 30 may also be reduced by re-locating some of thelarge components. For example, motor 74 may be inverted and relocated towhere reservoir 136 is shown in FIG. 6 to reduce the height of theapparatus 30. Using a pull-out forming chamber 92 as the means to removethe outcome, as discussed above, also helps reduce the height of theapparatus as no separate pull out tray 154 or mechanism to move theoutcome to the pull out tray 154 are then required. As for an under sinkapparatus 30, components above line 48 in FIG. 6 may be deleted orre-located. In particular, for a countertop apparatus 30, requiring thereceiving module 32 to be placed through a gate 52 requires the user tolift the receiving module 32 to an awkward height. Instead, componentsabove line 48 may be removed at least as required to allow the receivingmodule 32 to be placed directly onto the mating components directlybelow line 48. A latch or other mechanism may then be added toreleasably secure the receiving module 32 in place and, as discussedabove, the latch or other mechanism may interact with or power othersensors or functions. Alternately, the gate 52 and its relatedcomponents may be retained by the track 54 reduced in height, forexample to about one half of the height of the receiving module 32 suchthat in position C of FIG. 7, the receiving module 32 protrudes from theprocessing module 44. In an embodiment, an inverted motor 74 is locatedbehind where the receiving module 32 sits on the processing module 44, apull out forming chamber 92 is used, there are no components above line48 where the receiving module 32 sits on the processing module 44 and alatch is used to engage the receiving module 32 to the processing module44. In this embodiment, the bottom of the apparatus 30 is near thebottom of the forming tray 92 and the receiving module 32 only needs tobe lifted several cm from the countertop to engage it with theprocessing module 44.

A horizontally sliding door or track may also be used in place of gate52 for either a countertop or free-standing apparatus 30. For example,the apparatus 30 may have a drawer or track that pulls out from theapparatus and accepts the receiving module 32 from the front, for acountertop apparatus 30, or from above, for a free-standing or roamingapparatus 30. The receiving module 32 becomes connected to theprocessing module 44 when the drawer or track is slid back into theprocessing module 44. For a countertop apparatus 30, this allows theapparatus 30 to be located further back on a counter to interfere lesswith working space on the counter. For a freestanding or roamingapparatus 30, this frees up the space formerly occupied by the gate 52to function as a work surface.

Methods for Making Use of the Outcomes

FIG. 9 shows a basic option tree for making use of the outcomes. First,a household, business or other user of organic matter creates an outcomeor, more typically, a collection of outcomes. The user may then choosebetween using the outcome personally and transferring the outcome to anorganization.

For personal use, the user keeps the outcome and uses it as desired. Forexample, the user may compost the outcome by simply placing it on anordinary compost pile and allowing it to break down and decompose. Thebinders in solid outcomes will break down on a compost pile and leave acollection of pieces of organic matter. The configuration of the solidmay be chosen to help the solid break down faster. For example, anoutcome in the shape of a thin sheet or disk with holes through itbreaks down rapidly when exposed to the weather. Alternately, an outcomein the form of pieces may be selected for even faster decomposition. Ineither case, the organic matter decomposes quickly because it is alreadyreduced to pieces and the user may choose to place the outcome directlywhere the compost is desired, such as in a garden, without firstallowing the outcome to decompose in a compost pile. However, since theoutcomes are durable and substantially odor-free if kept dry, outcomesmay be collected over a period of days and transported to a compostingarea when convenient. The outcomes may also be used for other purposessuch as a fuel, animal feed, mulch or as a temporary insulator.

Users that do not wish to use the outcome themselves may transfer theoutcome to an organization such as a municipality or environmentalcompany. For example, the outcome can be left for pick up in the sameway as ordinary garbage is left for pickup. In this case, the userreceives no direct consideration or incentive from the organization, butmerely enjoys the reduced odors and density, dryness and otheradvantages of the outcome. Alternately, the user may leave the outcomesfor separate pick up by an organization that will put the outcomes touse, such as a municipality running a composting program. In this case,the user still receives no material consideration although there areindirect benefits to the user such as a cleaner environment and reduceduse of landfills. But since the qualities of the outcomes make them moreagreeable to collect, store and transport than raw organic waste, userswill not have compelling reasons not to participate in municipalcomposting programs. In particular, even business users or users inapartments or condominiums will be able to participate in compostingprograms without significant inconvenience.

Alternately, the organization may encourage the user to produce andleave the outcome for pick up by providing consideration to the user.The consideration may be provided directly. For example, theorganization may pay the user, in money, credits or by other means, foreach quantity of outcome left for pick up either each time a pick up ismade, or periodically after recording the amount left for pick up over aperiod of time. Alternately, the consideration may be provided through aless direct incentive such as a program that reduces the user's overallcost of garbage pickup or allows the user a larger volume of garbagepick up. For example, the organization may only pick up ordinary garbagein bags that have a tag that the user must purchase from theorganization for a fee. Containers of outcome, however, are picked upfree of charge. Optionally, further incentive can be provided by theorganization giving the user a tag for each specified quantity ofoutcome that the user leaves for pick up. For another example, theorganization may charge an annual fee for garbage pickup. The amount ofthe fee is related to the maximum number of bags of mixed garbage thatthe organization will be obliged to pick up per collection period.However, output separated from other garbage and left for pick up in anidentifiable container, such as a clear bag or open bin, will be pickedup for free and not counted towards the permitted maximum number of bagsof mixed garbage. In yet another example, the organization increases thetime between collections, for example to two weeks or more, eitherunilaterally or with the user's agreement. The organization spends lessmoney on collection and passes at least a portion of that savings on tothe user. The user also has to take out the garbage less often. Butsince raw organic waste would become extremely unpleasant over longperiods of time between pick ups, the user will want to convert as muchorganic waste to outcomes as possible.

As a further alternative, the user may transport the outcomes to adepot. Accordingly, users that do not have a garbage pick up service,for example rural residents, may transport the outcomes to a transferstation or other depot. At the depot, the outcomes may simply beaccepted as regular garbage without consideration. The user receives nobenefit but that the outcome is easier to transport than raw organicwaste and does not leave offensive odors even in a passenger car.Alternately, the user may receive some consideration analogous to theconsideration discussed above, for example, a waiver of the depot'sordinary fee for disposing outcomes separated from regular garbage or areduced fee for disposing regular garbage for every specified quantityof outcome left at the depot.

Since the outcomes may be transported without offense, depots may alsobe set up to collect outcomes independent of or as a supplement to theexisting garbage or non-organic recycling programs in effect in an area.In particular, while only a limited number of users are able to produceoutcomes, the organizations operating existing garbage and non-organicrecycling programs may not wish to provide a separate pick up foroutcomes. Instead, depots are provided to accept outcomes from thoseusers capable of producing outcomes. To the extent that the existinggarbage and non-organic recycling programs reward users, or are made toreward users, for reducing the volume of garbage to be picked up or thefrequency of pick up, users will benefit from converting organic wasteto outcomes and taking it to the depot. Accordingly, a program ofencouraging businesses or households to divert organic waste to outcomescan be initiated by providing depots to accept the outcomes andsimultaneously providing pick up for other garbage or recyclablesaccording to a program that benefits those that bring outcomes to thedepots. For example, pick up for other garbage can be made lessfrequent, the number of bags of ordinary garbage that will be picked upcan be limited, or the user may be charged, at least in part, per bag ofordinary garbage picked up.

Benefit can also be provided based on the amount of outcome brought by auser to a depot. This benefit can be used as an additional or alternateway to encouraging businesses or households to divert organic waste tooutcomes without providing door to door pick up of outcomes. Thisbenefit can also be used as a way for a company which wants to makefurther use of the outcomes but has no connection with the organizationthat collects other garbage to secure outcomes.

The depot may provide a benefit to the users in many ways. For example,the depot may simply pay the user, for example in money, credit slips,garbage collection tags or by other means, for every specified quantityof outcomes brought to the depot. The quantity of outcomes may bespecified by various means such as weight, volume, number of standardbags or number of solid outcomes of a standard size. The depot may makethe payment immediately or record the payment to an account. The usermay withdraw from the account from time to time or the amount in theaccount may be linked to other accounts of the user, for example theuser's municipal tax bill may be reduced by the amount in the account.

The depot may be manually operated, automatic or have a mix of automaticand manual functions. For example, the depot may have an attendant thatrecords, either on paper or in a database, the amount of outcomesbrought to the depot and the personal or account information of theuser. Optionally, personal or account information may be embedded on amagnetic strip card that is swiped through a reader or linked to anaccount number that the user punches in at the depot to avoid the needto manually record the information. The outcomes themselves may also belabeled, for example with a bar code label applied manually by the useror automatically by the outcome producing apparatus, so that personal oraccount information is recorded as each unit of outcomes is placed inthe depot.

Through a combination of such methods, the depot may be fully automated.For example, the depot may have a container with a scale platform at thebottom and an opening at the top. The user swipes a magnetic card thattransfers the user's account information to the depot and causes thedepot to disengage a magnetic lock on the opening. The user then insertsthe outcomes through the opening. When all outcomes are inserted, theuser pushes a button that causes the depot to take and record the weightof the outcomes. The depot then either dispenses consideration on thespot, or records the weight of outcome to the user's account. At aboutthe same time, the depot slides the outcomes off of the scale platforminto a storage area and re-engages the magnetic lock. Periodically, theorganization running the depot picks up the stored outcomes for furtheruse.

Another fully automated depot as adapted may be used to work with astandardized size and shape of solid outcome. The depot has a slot thatthe outcomes can be slid into. The slot contains a bar code reader thatscans the outcomes as they slide by. The bar codes give the depot theuser's account information so that the number of solids inserted can berecorded to the user's account. If the solids are not bar coded, thedepot simply counts the number of solids slid into the depot and forevery one or other specified number of solids, issues a receipt or tokenredeemable elsewhere, a coin, garbage tag or other form ofconsideration.

Through any of these or other methods, an organization collects largenumbers of outcomes for further use. The output may be used, forexample, as input to a large scale composting operation, as animal feedor fuel, or it may be simply bagged for re-sale to individuals or otherorganizations.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention mayalso be practiced in embodiments different from those described above.In particular, but without limitation, the invention has been describedprimarily for use in managing household organic waste, but may beadapted for use in other applications, such as commercial foodprocessing or restaurant waste. Many other additions, deletions ormodifications may be made to the embodiments described above withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. A process for producing a biodegradable solid of organic wastecomprising: providing a receiving module removably mounted to aprocessing module, with the receiving module having a perforated liner;collecting organic waste by placing the organic waste in the perforatedliner of the receiving module when the receiving module is removed fromthe processing module; reducing the organic waste to pieces before theorganic waste is dried by operating a reducing element located in theperforated liner of the receiving module while the receiving module ismounted to the processing module; transferring the pieces from thereceiving module to the processing module while the receiving module ismounted to the processing module by passing the pieces through theperforated liner; mixing the pieces with a biodegradable binder to forma mixture; and forming a unitary biodegradable solid from the mixture bydrying the mixture wherein the reduced organic waste pieces areconverted to a unitary biodegradable solid.
 2. The process of claim 1wherein the transferring further comprises the pieces traveling from theperforated liner of the receiving module through at least one passagewayto the processing module.
 3. The process of claim 2 wherein thetransferring further comprises the pieces traveling to a form in theprocessing module.
 4. The process of claim 1 wherein the transferringthe pieces further comprises flushing the pieces through the perforatedliner.
 5. The process of claim 1 wherein forming the mixture comprisesmixing the pieces with water.
 6. The process of claim 1 wherein formingthe unitary biodegradable solid comprises forming the mixture into apredetermined shape.
 7. The process of claim 1 wherein the dryingfurther comprises heating the mixture.
 8. The process of claim 7 furthercomprising removing liquid water from the mixture.
 9. The process ofclaim 8 wherein the liquid water is re-used in a subsequent process forproducing a unitary biodegradable solid.
 10. The process of claim 7further comprising capturing water vapor emitted while drying themixture.
 11. The process of claim 10 further comprising converting thecaptured water vapor to liquid water.
 12. The process of claim 11wherein the liquid water is re-used in a subsequent process forproducing a unitary biodegradable solid.
 13. The process of claim 8wherein the water or biodegradable binder in the mixture is obtainedfrom the organic waste.
 14. The process of claim 13 wherein thebiodegradable binder is a carbohydrate.
 15. The process of claim 14wherein the biodegradable binder is activated by heating.
 16. Theprocess of claim 1 wherein the biodegradable binder is a carbohydrate.17. The process of claim 16 wherein the biodegradable binder isactivated by the heating.
 18. The process of claim 1 wherein the dryingcomprises drying the mixture to a moisture content at which the mixtureis free of odors caused by microbial activity.